Why Worry?

March-May 2002

By Lama Yeshe

Photo by Robin Bath

Lama Yeshe’s talk in Berkeley, California, in the summer of 1983 was given at a time when the world was in a state of anxiety about the threat of nuclear war. How easily it translates to today when new fears have arisen. As Lama said, “First we create a situation; then we’re scared of it. … However, there’s no need for fear, worry or anxiety because, first of all, nuclear energy is a reality and secondly, our opinion of what’s happening is just that – an opinion. It’s not yet a reality; it’s simply a presumption.” This extract, edited by Nick Ribush of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archives, reflects Lama’s inimitable style.

Perhaps you’ll argue that even though [nuclear threat] is only a presumption, we should still worry. If that’s the case, we should worry about everything. We should be anxious today about what might happen tomorrow. Every day since the world began, somewhere on earth, there has been some kind of natural disaster – flood, electrical storm, forest fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption and death and destruction in general. Nature itself is destructive by nature and has the capacity to do violence. Still, I don’t think you should lose sleep over it; there’s no need for fear, worry or anxiety….

When others insult, rebuke and speak unpleasant words to us, although an intolerable pain arises like a thorn at the heart, if we comprehend the teachings then we can recognize the essenceless nature of these words which resemble an echo. So just as when an inanimate object is scolded, we will experience not the slightest mental turmoil.